Forum:Jakobs Vendor - let's do something about it
Recently I purchased the Zombie Island DLC, and found, much to my dismay, that the Jakobs Vending Machine does not work. I know the reaction of most of you reading this will be, "Gee, you just found out? Everyone and their mother knows it doesn't work." That's great. But the amount of people that know about the glitch is probably several times the amount of people that have actually tried to do something about it. Normally I wouldn't even care. But one of the reasons I bought the DLC was because I had heard about Jakobs Vending Machines, and, what do you know, this feature is centrally advertised in Xbox LIVE's Marketplace, despite the fact that Gearbox has publicly acknowledged the feature is non-functional. {C}If this isn't false advertising, I don't know what is. I wrote to Xbox LIVE customer support, who obviously did not even bother to read my e-mail because I specifically said the problem was a bug that the developer had yet to fix, and the (probably automated) reply I received gave me step-by-step instructions on how to re-install the DLC on my Xbox. Microsoft either does not know the scope of the problem or refuses to acknowledge the scope of the problem; but I feel if enough of the Borderlands community writes to Xbox LIVE (or PSN for some of you) customer support regarding this problem, maybe something will get done. Who knows, they might even make Gearbox release a patch, God forbid. {C}Personally I asked for 800 Microsoft Points. I probably won't get them by myself, but if enough people do the same, or ask for refunds, something might actually happen. I think when confronted with such small demands, especially considering that the charge being laid against them is something as significant as false advertising, Microsoft will have to relent. So please write. At least ask them to change the Zombie Island description so others don't get duped out of ten dollars. http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Zombie-Island/00000000-0000-400c-80cf-0002545407e7 <<< link to Zombie Island Xbox LIVE Marketplace description - note that the Jakobs Vending Machine is centrally advertised http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t=95481 <<< official Gearbox thread for known issues, including the Jakobs Vending Machine : Im not sure what the issue is here. Yes there is a Jakobs vending machine and no it does not work until you do the mission that activates it. Once it is active, it will stay active until you kill Dr. Ned. Afterwords it stops working. Even when it is active, it does not have only Jakobs weapons in it. It is merely a second vendor in Jakobs Cove not unlike the second vendor in New Haven. The "centrally advertised Jakobs vending machines" are part of a Jakobs Company pitch(which is fiction). It is meant to be a joke not unlike the Marcus pitches from his machines and not a serious attempt to pitch the machines as a way of selling the game. I think you may have missunderstood. If you are looking for Jakobs weapons you will be better off looking for them in the Armory or at Crawmerax IMO. 02:05, October 26, 2011 (UTC) I think you misunderstand me entirely. The Jakobs Vending Machine does not work. Once the mission is completed, the machine can be accessed once, afterwards if you turn off your console or otherwise leave the area, the machine will revert back to its "broken" state. This is a bug. Gearbox has acknowledged that publicly in the aforementioned link. The machine is intended to work like the other vending machines - at all times. But it does not. The "centrally advertised Jakobs vending machine" is advertised by Mircrosoft. Not Jakobs. There is no joke there. I get the sales pitch jokes. Unfortunately this is not a joke, as the actual DLC description invites players to come and use the Jakobs Vending Machine - which as I stated previously does not work due to a bug. Whether or not the Jakobs Company is fictional is irrelevant. When you mention something in your item description, and people pay you money for it, you are advertising. When that something does not work as advertised, you're not supposed to be able to get away with it. Am I the only one here that is bothered by the fact that someone is making money selling something that basically never made it past the beta phase before being released? Come on guys... The reason companies get away with things like this is because of apathy. Modding communities are some of the most dedicated groups out there. I'm just asking people to write an e-mail. Seriously.Eto562 02:32, October 26, 2011 (UTC)Eto562 : I read both the links. Microsoft does not say the game will have Jackobs vending machines directly. The part about the vending machines is in the middle of a pitch by Jackobs. The only parts actually advertising the game is the first sentence, the rest is just a joke in keeping with the rest of the game IMO. As for the bug. I did not see anywhere that is was intended to work all the time. It is listed as an issue brought up by some players. The fact that it has not been fixed after all this time when many other things were, means one of two things, 1. It was intended to be this way so it was not fixed. 2. The issue can not be fixed for what ever reason. I am sorry to say that I dont see a problem here. I am not trying to insult you, just stating my opinion. 03:09, October 26, 2011 (UTC) The item description IS an advertisement. That is the whole point of having an item description to begin with. An advertisement is not just something that says "Buy this please", you do understand that right? The fact that the item description starts making esoteric jokes and references to the Borderlands universe doesn't mean it ceases to be an advertisement. In fact, I think it is obvious that the advertisement starts ''after the first sentence. All the first sentence does is tell you that it's a DLC. In fact, let's test this. 1. "The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned is an add-on pack for Borderlands with new enemy types, new missions, and new ... surprises." 2. "The Jakobs Corporation would like to invite you to experience the splendor of a corporate owned small town known as Jakobs Cove. Any rumors you may have heard about the "undead" walking our streets are completely preposterous and we officially deny them all. If those rumors turn out to be true simply purchase a firearm from the conveniently located Jakobs Brand Vending Machines and aim for the head. Also, would you mind saving our employees?" Which item description would sell more, 1, or 2? I think the answer is obvious... I don't mean to insult you either, but if (1) is indeed the only part of the paragraph that is a legitimate advertisement as you say, the only idea for an advertisment that could possibly be worse would be to feature obese actors in fast food commercials. The first sentence could literally be replaced with the phrase, "This is a DLC", to no great affect. What if I told you the sole reason I bought the DLC was because of the Jakobs Vending Machine? Would you tell me it's my fault for not disregarding everything but the first sentence, that I should have known it was just an in-game joke? That's absurd. They might as well have mentioned getting to go to a secret room full of weapon boxes as a "joke". Why bother mentioning zombies, Jakobs Cove, or anything in general that actually exists in-game, when, according to you, only the first sentence can be considered to be advertising something? and if you did indeed search through the second link at all you would find: issue: DLC: Jakobs vending machine only accessible once after completing mission "Upsale" status: This issue is under investigation so obviously 1. it is ''not ''intended to be this way. Note the wording. "''Only accessible once" is the problem. Inferring from this that the machine is supposed to work like a normal vendor is not a stretch at all. Also it is not just "listed as an issue brought up by some players". If it was just "some players" I could care less. The problem is that it works for NO players. It is not an isolated incident. You can view that information on this very wiki. Look up Jakobs Cove. The bug is known to be universal, Gearbox has acknowledged this, yet the DLC is allowed to be sold in its current state at full price, with the misleading item description in all its glory. and if 2. The issue can not be fixed for what ever reason, (which I highly doubt - this is a very simple fix) then, they need to either change the item description, offer refunds to the customers that bought the DLC, or pressure Gearbox into releasing a fix. That's part of running an ethical business with integrity. You honestly do not see the problem?Eto562 04:36, October 26, 2011 (UTC) Eto562 : It does not say anywhere that the vendor was intended to be used more than once. I read every post on all five pages and gearbox never says it is supposed to be used more than once. it says people report only being able to use it once, which is an assumtion on peoples part that it is supposed to be able to be used more than once. The entire part that says "the jakobs corporation invites you" and so on is writen as if the Jakobs corp is first person(our, we). Jakobs corp is a fiction created by gearbox. The entire section is writen with obvious jokes and should be take as such IMO. The first section also say " new enemy types, new missions, and new ... surprises" which is an advertisment of what the DLC is. How do you know the fix is easy? Have you read the code and found the problem? Have you programmed a fix and submitted it to Gerabox? You are entitled to ask for a fix, refund or whatever. Im not saying you dont. im saying i dont see a reason to do so myself. This is my opinion, thats all. 10:15, October 26, 2011 (UTC)